Canon PowerShot A570 IS 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera With Image Stabilization

The Canon PowerShot A570 IS is a 7.1-Megapixel Canon camera with 4x optical zoom that uses two AA batteries and features optical image stabilization. It is a new model that improves on the previous models of the A5xx series by upping the resolution and adding, among other things, optical image stabilization.

What is Canon PowerShot A570 IS?

The Canon PowerShot A570 IS is a 7.1-Megapixel compact digital camera with a 4x optical stabilized zoom, 2.5-inch LCD screen, zooming optical viewfinder, new acclaimed Canon Digic 3 (DiG!C III) Image Processor, 9-point AiAF auto focus, 1-point auto focus and manual focus, multiple shooting modes including Full Auto, Program and Manual Mode, Scene modes. It stores pictures on SD (Secure Digital) or MultiMedia memory cards (16 MB card included in the package) and features USB 2.0 high-speed connection to PC and Mac computers.

The A570 IS supports direct printing (without computer) with PictBridge compatible printers. The camera is powered by 2 AA batteries (alkaline batteries included, rechargeable NiMH recommended). It features a tripod mount and a convenient mechanical mode wheel.

Features

The camera is quite similar to the new A550 model, but features larger LCD screen, optical image stabilization. The Canon PowerShot A550 IS features sharp 4x optical zoom (35-140 mm in 35mm equivalent) with maximum apertures f/2.6-f/5.5 and minimum aperture of f/8.0 at both wide angle and telephoto.

The camera features selectable Evaluative, Center-Weighted and Spot metering modes. The camera has a shutter speed range of 15-1/2,000 sec and selectable ISO of 80-1600, in addition to ISO Auto and High ISO Auto.

The camera has a low-light focus assist illuminator that helps it focus in low light. The orientation sensor detects if the camera is held horizontally or vertically and saves the pictures appropriately.

The A570 also has a Macro mode where it can focus as close as 2 inches (5 cm) at wide angle or 11.8 inches (30 cm) at telephoto. It uses 2 AA batteries. Canon claims that rechargeable NiMH batteries can provide 400 shots on one charge (120 shots with disposable alkaline batteries) or 600/540 min of playback time.

The available movie mode records movies with sound at 640x480 or 320x240 30/15 fps up to 1 GB or 60 minutes, 320x240 60 fps up to 1 minute or 160x120 15 fps (up to 3 minutes).

Getting Started

Once the A570 IS arrived, I inserted my charged 2300-mAh Rayovac NiMH batteries and my Kingston Elite Pro SD memory card and was ready to shoot. Just as the other cameras of the A5xx series, the A570 IS has a nice looking and durable metal/polycarbonate body that is compact and convenient to hold. I was disappointed to see that unlike the A550, the A570 has a mechanical switch between shooting and review modes. I like the button that is used in the A550 better.

The camera has a retractable lens that extends and has a lens cover that opens when the camera is powered on. When the camera is powered off, the lens retracts and the lens cover closes. The A570 IS has an on/off button on the top deck as well as a zoom rocker, large shutter release button and a large rotating mode dial. The mode dial can be set to Auto mode, Program mode, multiple scene modes or Manual mode.

The bottom of the camera has an offset threaded tripod mount and a memory card/battery compartment lid. The rear houses a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, an optical zooming viewfinder, a review/shoot mechanical switch and control buttons. The side has a cover, underneath which you can find a USB 2.0 jack, A/V jack and a DC power jack.

Usage

The camera can be used in full auto mode (by rotating the mode dial to Auto position), where it is extremely easy to use. In this mode the camera sets all parameters automatically and you only have to point and shoot.

It is as easy as it gets: press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus and the camera shows you (on the LCD screen) where it focused by displaying one or more green rectangles. Then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.

You can go one step further and select an appropriate scene mode (e.g. Portrait, Landscape, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Kids & Pets, etc.) to let camera know what effect you want. For example, in the Portrait mode the camera will try to keep the subject sharp while keeping the background blurry, but will try to keep both foreground and background sharp in the Landscape mode.

In most modes you can use Exposure Compensation to make pictures the camera takes brighter or darker. It is accessible by pushing the button on the rear panel.

IS

IS stands for optical Image Stabilization and helps you take sharp photos handheld in dim light and/or at high zoom levels. The elements inside the lens move to counteract the effects of the shake introduced by your hands. No more blurry pictures indoors with no flash or when zoomed-in. Well, it will not make miracles happen, but it will improve the results dramatically. I could shoot about 2 stops slower and still get the sharp photo.

Battery Life

The A570 can take about 400 pictures on one charge of high-capacity NiMH batteries, which is a significant improvement on the previous models. I was easily able to take more than 140 photos using my 2300 mAh batteries and the low battery warning has not appeared yet. Obviously, using disposable alkaline batteries is bad for the environment and from the financial standpoint, but if you run out of juice, you can use easily-obtainable anywhere alkaline AA batteries. According to Canon, the A570 should take about 120 photos using them. Pretty good result, considering a large LCD and optical image stabilization.

Performance

The camera takes less than two seconds to power up and can capture images at less than two-second intervals without flash (using Kingston Elite Pro SD memory card) or 5-9 seconds with flash (depending on the subject distance and battery charge). The focusing takes less than a second and the shutter lag, when pre-focused, is almost nonexistent.

The zooming from wide angle to telephoto (or back) takes about two seconds and is smooth and responsive. The burst mode lets you take photos at about 2 per seconds.

The flash has an effective red-eye reduction mode and is sufficient at up to 10-12 feet away. It has a recycle time of about 5-9 seconds (depending on the subject distance and battery charge). If you need faster flash recycling, you might need to upgrade to a 4-AA battery model like Canon A630 or A640. Flash recycling time is the Achilles’ hill of the most 2-AA battery cameras, although Panasonic cameras of the LZ series seem to be doing better on the flash recycle than Canon models on 2 AA batteries.

LCD and Viewfinder

The camera has a 2.5-inch non-articulated (fixed) LCD screen and an optical zooming viewfinder. The LCD coverage as about 100% - you can see exactly what will be recorded. The viewfinder, however, covers only about 80% of what will be recorded. The LCD is fluid but its resolution is only 115,000 pixels - good but not great.

Computer Connectivity

The camera uses USB 2.0 high-speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the SD memory card and use a memory card reader (if you have one), which I did. Since I have not tried the USB transfer of this camera, I cannot comment on the real speed.

Build Quality and Ergonomics

The camera features good build quality. It is also convenient to hold and its compact size lets you put it in a jacket pocket or a purse easily. The major controls are within easy reach and the tactile response is good.

Focusing

You can let camera focus using its AiAF 9-area focusing system and the camera will show you green rectangles over the areas where it focused so that you can confirm the focus areas. You can also switch to the 1-point focusing. The Macro mode is available at a push of a button as is the manual focusing.

Image Quality Settings

Just as other Canon cameras, this one lets you select between SuperFine, Fine and Normal compression levels (regardless of resolution). In the Normal compression mode, some fine detail may be lost. I would use SuperFine mode for high-resolution pictures intended for printing or post processing. But for web/email or conserving space on the memory card, other modes are viable options.

The camera lets you select between full 7.1 MP resolution, widescreen version of thereof, Medium 1 mode (5MP), Medium 2 mode (3MP), Medium 3 (2MP) and Small mode (640x480). The included 16-Megabyte memory card can store only about 4 photos of lowest compression at the highest resolution (7.1 MP SupreFine).

White Balance

The camera's automatic white balance usually works well, especially outdoors. Incandescent light warrants the use of manual white balance or incandescent white balance setting.

Picture Quality

I usually take photos that contain all primary colors at different focal lengths, apertures and compression ratios. Some photos are taken outdoors, some indoors with and without flash.

Oftentimes, I take a bunch of photos from my balcony. Those photos features all colors: blue sky, green foliage, red curbs, yellow fire hydrant and cars of different colors.

Taking photos at different focal lengths and apertures reveals the camera's optical quality: corner sharpness, chromatic aberrations, overall sharpness.

Taking photos at different ISO settings shows how well a given camera can keep noise levels low in dim light. I mostly evaluate the image quality using my computer monitor, but I also print some photos at different sizes using either my printer or online services like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Sam's Club's online photo center.

The camera produces excellent photos that are well-exposed, sharp, contrasty and richly-colored. The colors are very pleasing. The skin colors are true to life and pleasing. Unlike some other cameras (including Canon SD Digital Elph series) that have noticeably softer edges of the frame, the photos taken with the A570 IS are sharp at the edges of the frame as well as at the center.

The lens of this camera is very good, despite its compact dimensions and the 4x optical zoom. It exhibits slight barrel distortion at wide angle (straight lines bow out at the edges of the frame) that is virtually unnoticeable and can only be detected if you take pictures of buildings and really pay attention.

The camera features virtually no chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in the areas of high contrast. The image noise is absent at ISO 80, appears (slightly) at the ISO 100 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 200, gets worse at ISO 400, gets pretty bad at ISO 800 or 1600 and there is a significant loss of detail at the latter two.

Still, if you are printing 6x4 or 5x7 pictures, the noise should not be visible up to (and including) ISO 200 and barely visible at ISO 400-800. The ISO 1600 is pretty bad and I would not use it at anything other than low-resolution photos for web posting or emailing.

With 7.1-megapixel resolution, you can print your photos at up to 11x14 inches or even 13x19 with good detail (ISO up to 200). Heavy cropping with smaller print sizes will work too. I usually do not use ISO 400-800 unless I have to.

And the good thing is you do not really have to use higher ISOs since this model has optical image stabilization and allows you to take photos at slower shutter speeds handheld with no loss of sharpness.

Macro

The A570 can take good macro pictures. It can capture (with no flash) a minimum area of about 2x1.5-inch and features a sharp image with only slight blurring in corners of the frame. A very good macro performance, considering the size and price of the camera.

You need light to illuminate the shooting area and/or a tripod, however: the flash when engaged at such a close distance can overexpose the upper left portion of the image. But in the bright light, you can take sharp macro images handheld with no flash, thanks to the cameara’s IS.

Bottom Line

If you need a compact, easy to use yet capable camera that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 13x19 inches, has 4x optical zoom with optical image stabilization and uses two AA batteries, I highly recommend the Canon PowerShot A570 IS. But if you want fast flash recycle times, more manual control or articulated LCD (but no image stabilization), the 4-AA battery-equipped Canon PowerShot A630 may be a better choice.